Gladding-Hearn Expands Shipbuilding Capacity

Gladding-Hearn Shipbuilding, Duclos Corp., is increasing its metal fabrication capabilities by about 30 percent at its six-acre shipyard on the Taunton River in Somerset, Massachusetts. Construction is underway of a new 12,000 sq. ft. fabrication building, measuring 107 x 110 x 40 ft. (clear height). The heated building will house two 50-foot bays for the manufacture of modules of vessels or complete vessels, weighing as much as 100 tons. Each bay will be equipped with a 5-ton crane overhead for easy movement of modules, materials and equipment through a 50 ft.-wide sliding door. The building also includes systems for piping compressed air and inert welding gases from bulk storage tanks located elsewhere on the property. The shipyard’s last construction project, a 25,000 sq. ft. fabrication building, was in 1998.

While the shipyard currently employs over 100 people, the additional fabrication capability has the potential to create about 50 new jobs, said company officials. The company is also tripling its indoor secure storage capacity, with a new 6,700 sq. ft. facility for bulky items, such as vessel insulation, electronics and machinery. With construction and mortgage financing provided by Slade Bank in Somerset, Mass., and a SBA-504 low-interest loan through the Southeastern Massachusetts Economic Development Corporation, completion of the new buildings is expected by March.